Miley's twerking, selfies drive internet in 2013

...And the ugly. Miley Cyrus shocked everyone. Even Rihanna.

It was a year for 'twerking,' 'selfies,' and 'cronuts' in internet searching, right up there with Hollywood, pop and reality stars.

Web users also were interested in subjects ranging from the "Zombie Apocalypse" to the troubled rollout of Obamacare, according to an annual review by Yahoo released Tuesday.

For Americans, Miley Cyrus was the top search query on Yahoo - inspired by the pop star's go at the butt-shaking dance called twerking.

Yahoo's 2013 year in review released Tuesday said Cyrus dethroned reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who dropped to number two despite her highly publicised pregnancy, divorce and engagement.

Yahoo said swimsuit model Kate Upton was number three, followed by the online gaming phenomenon Minecraft. Next was actress-singer Selena Gomez, and sixth was the troubled rollout of President Barack Obama's health care plan, or Obamacare.

Some other popular items, Yahoo said, were searches related to the "Zombie Apocalypse," and the new US$100 bill. Twerking was among the popular "Web obsessions," according to a Yahoo statement, along with "selfies," or self-directed photos captured on a smartphone.

Top food-related searches were "cronuts," a croissant-style of donut, and "how to cook spaghetti squash," Yahoo said.

The most popular search terms were a bit different on Bing, the Microsoft search engine which released its annual review on Sunday for users in 12 countries.

According to Bing, Beyonce dethroned reality TV personality Kim Kardashian as the most searched person on the internet in 2013 for Americans.

While Beyonce outpaced Kardashian in the United States, according to Bing, she was also number two in Britain, behind Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber. Britain's number three searched personality was Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.

In Australia, Miley Cyrus edged homegrown model Miranda Kerr as the most-searched person, ahead of Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister, Bing said in a blog post Sunday.

Cyrus was also number one in Canada, ahead of Britain's duchess and American actress Amanda Bynes.

The Barbadian singer Rihanna was the top-searched person in France, followed by Kardashian and Beyonce, the blog said. Selena Gomez was number one in Germany, edging Cyrus and Bieber.